Restoring Voting Rights

More than 6 million American citizens are unable to vote because of a past criminal conviction. As many as 4.7 million of these citizens live, work, and raise families in our communities. But because of a conviction in their past they are still denied this fundamental democratic right. These laws, deeply rooted in our troubled racial history, have a disproportionate impact on minorities. Across the country, one in every 13 voting-age African Americans have lost their right to vote, which is four times the rate for all other Americans.

For a map of current state felon disenfranchisement policies, click here.

Through litigation, legislative and administrative advocacy, and public education, the Brennan Center works nationwide to restore voting rights to people with past criminal convictions. See our state-by-state guide on felony disenfranchisement laws and our work in Congress on the Democracy Restoration Act.

The United States stands alone among modern democracies in stripping voting rights from millions of citizens on the basis of criminal convictions. This piece examines the historical roots of the laws behind this disenfranchisement.

The Brennan Center filed an amicus brief in California’s First District Court of Appeal supporting the voting rights of people who have been released from prison and are living in their community, but remain under local criminal justice supervision.

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Featured Publication

My First Vote is a compilation of stories from people across the country who voted for the first time in November 2008 after having lost, and then regained, their right to vote following a criminal conviction.